FREEHOLD – An applicant is seeking a use variance from the Freehold Borough Planning Board in order to develop a shopping plaza at the intersection of Park Avenue and West Main Street.
Park Avenue is also known as Route 33, a state highway, and West Main Street is also known as Route 537, a Monmouth County road.
Residents who live near the intersection have expressed concern about the conversion of the property from the former home of the Grace Lutheran Church to a commercial use.
The applicant, CT95-CT07 200 PARK LLC and DT95-DT07 PARK LLC, wants to construct the shopping center at 200 Park Ave. The property is zoned residential and a use variance is needed for the proposed commercial use.
Representatives of the applicant appeared before the board on March 14 and March 28. Attorney Donna Jennings presented the application on March 14 and attorney Steven Tripp presented the application on March 28, substituting for Jennings.
No decision was made on the application and the hearing is scheduled to continue on April 25. If a use variance is granted, the applicant will have to return before the board to seek preliminary and final site plan approval to construct the shopping plaza.
The Grace Lutheran Church operated in the borough for more than 60 years before closing in 2016 and merging with Hope Lutheran Church in Freehold Township. The former house of worship at the corner of Park Avenue and West Main Street would be demolished if the shopping center is approved, according to the application.
Engineer James Henry testified that the proposed shopping plaza would total 11,000 square feet. He noted the property is oversized at 64,072 square feet (approximately 1.5 acres), while the zone requires a corner lot to be 9,500 square feet (approximately one-quarter of an acre).
Henry said parking would be placed so as to avoid being adjacent to residential areas and he said 67 trees and 126 shrubs have been proposed to serve as a buffer, with an existing fence. Sidewalks are proposed to provide pedestrian access to the shopping plaza.
Traffic engineer Nicholas Verderese testified that traffic studies indicated about 2,000 vehicles go through the intersection of Park Avenue and West Main Street in an hour. He said the shopping plaza would add about 49 new vehicles per hour, slightly more than a 2 percent impact.
“[The impact] is only about one vehicle through the intersection every one to two minutes,” Verderese said. “So if we add 40 vehicles to the intersection, every time the [traffic] signals change and come all the way around, only one more car will come through the intersection from this project.”
Planner Andrew Janiw said the shopping center would be a benefit to the community and convenient to homes within walking distance of the property and to motorists passing the location. He said he did not find any substantial detriment with the project.
“The scale of the building, I believe, is appropriate to this oversized lot,” he said. “With respect to those kind of nuisance factors that we have to consider in terms of being a detriment to the public, I think we can mitigate all those and mitigate those all adequately so it does not become a detrimental nature to the public.”
Residents opposed to the applicant’s request for a use variance cited an increase in vehicles and more congestion and safety issues at the intersection. Residents of Berkeley Place, Brinckerhoff Avenue, Broad Street and Lawrence Place said they believe motorists will use their streets to avoid the intersection of Park Avenue and West Main Street.
Residents noted students are in the area walking to and from the Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Intermediate School, which are both near the proposed shopping plaza on Park Avenue.
Other concerns included an increase in pollution from vehicles idling at the shopping plaza, motorists tossing garbage from vehicles while stopped in the area, an increase in light pollution from the new building and the possibility of individuals loitering at the stores.
Some residents said they believed a shopping plaza would negatively affect the appearance of Freehold Borough, which they said has an historic character. Residents asked if the property could be retained for religious purposes or be used as open space.
Other residents questioned whether additional commercial space is needed and reasoned that a new shopping plaza could take business away from downtown merchants. Still other residents objected to permitting a commercial use in a residential zone.
One resident expressed concern that a garbage bin at the commercial building would be placed close to the backyard of her mother’s home.
While most residents raised concerns about the shopping plaza, some residents voiced support for the project. One resident said the property is not a traditional residential area, as it sits at the intersection of a state highway and a county road. Others supported having a commercial center within walking distance of homes, while others said the new stores could provide employment opportunities.
Attorney Kevin Asadi, who is representing himself as an objector to the application, asked the board not to vote on the use variance until he has an opportunity to have a planner testify. Board members agreed to Asadi’s request and carried the application to April 25.